what's the next big social web based site?

Fluther…?

I don’t really use any of the big sites. I do use last.fm to keep in touch with a few people. But I mostly use it to find new bands to listen to.

I’m going to have to agree with Andrew, I’ve never met so many great people in such a short period of time, online.

To johnpowell There is a site called trackshack.com . You might like that for checking out new bands.

But I I agree that Fluther is great., I’m sticking around!!

I am signed up to a few social networking sites. I fear I have spread myself too thin. I get invites from all over the place, sign up, and then generally neglect them. I’m sure the next time another comes out I’ll end up signing up for that one, too, along with everyone else.

None appear to work exceptionally better than the other, at some point they seem to become bloated and lethargic with an excess of bells and whistles to try to make up for it. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s all a matter of personal preference.

Another bizarre trend that I see is people “collecting” friends, as if e-networking has become some kind of popularity contest.

One of the reasons that I’m attracted to Fluther is that it’s more content and topic based as opposed to some of the others.

Andrew, you stole my answer.

I also think Twitter is considered to be up and coming although it’s been around for ages now.

I personally don’t think there is a next “big” social networking website… there are a few out there and they serve their purpose. You’re going to start seeing smaller niche-based social networking sites like www.runnerplus.com and www.oldnum7.com that are geared toward a specific audience.

Fluther all the way! I’ve never been into any of the others. This place is great!

Virb

Fluther – enough said!

I also wanted to mention that at a recent conference, I observed ‘future thinkers’ (and ironically, one of them on the Panel was Al Gore (talking about his networked online videojournalism venture connect.tv; & no I don’t work for him/them lol)...they were commenting that the ‘next big thing’ in social networks is not place or time, but context, as in content/media/sites that serve the purpose of the context needed at the time (or many sites, purpose specific or more tailored to groups with particular needs, as opposed to socializing for socializing sake).

It’s almost analogous to what happened with network television—> cable—> tivo—> video-on-demand online (i.e. YouT*be, etc.), whereby the direction of the media consumption is going toward context versus time/place shifted media.

A prime example context-based networks, besides Fluther (which was also my answer!) is the work-based networking site Linked In (and no, I don’t work for them).

Also as a music industry professional, I see clear evidence of this reflected in the music industry (why my prediction of iTunes lasting 2 more years tops if they continue on the present business model; Rick Rubin called it too awhile back in a Wired Magazine article at the time of its publishing, many thought he was crazy). Just look at how many ‘free’ streaming music sites there are out there besides pay sites (Rhapsody etc.), sites like Pandora, last.fm, deezer, etc., and you begin to see the point. It doesn’t matter how many iPods you sell; just look at the ‘set top box’ radios out there; although they’re still semi-useful for real-time talk radio, music radio is fast going the way of the dinosaur…

I don’t think this is solely based on the influence of P2P, but it’s more the trend or evolution of the web. I know the next big paradigm shift related to this will involve HD media (movies, television, broadcast media esp. news) as the last piece of the puzzle is falling into place with ultra high bandwidth and the global roll-out of internet2 just on the horizon. Media as we know it will never be consumed in the ‘same’ way it has been; the big companies just have to adapt and resolve their insecurities about this-as adage goes, “the train has already left the station”. It’s happening for all media, and communication will soon follow suit.

Well, getting back to the question above, I’m thinking the social networking will also continue to reflect this paradigm shift toward context-based networking sites (Fluther being a perfect example). That’s my final answer, locking it in Rege…

Don’t think its new, but I do love TeamSugar.com. Its a social site for women.

for iPhone users, iRovr has a great community from all over the world.

I’m actually gonna put in a good word for facebook. Although it has gotten bloated recently, you don’t have to add any third party apps, and it’s still no myspace in terms of shiny things to play with.

Radar which can be found on the iPhone and iPod Touch you can download pics and videos and also talk. Fluther is still a little better

I love me some fluther! Riser said it best, “I have never met so many great people in such a short time, online.”

Also iReview is a good site

FLUTHER = #1

Fluther is the best social networking site

fluther, of course! I do have a myspace, there are just way to many people I personally know on it.

2nd vote for Twitter. It had a great sophomore performance at SXSW (so I read) and recently got the nod from Wired’s editor.

Fluther is the best so far. I’m a facebook user, but it’s primarily to keep in touch with certain friends. My flickr, twitter, tumblr, warcraft and facebook are all synced together… I like it how it is and don’t see myself joining another social network unless it can integrate smoothly into my current setup, and offers a lot of Fluther-type people (read: intelligent and witty!)...

Hehe… Just changed my mind – I’m joining bebo. It’s the largest social network worldwide, and just today AOL offered to buy it. (aim + network = wow).

Fluther & LinkedIN seem to keep me the most interested!!! Facebook & Plaxo are really just space markers, Flickr is an incredible resource, and Tumblr is a personal tool for saving great info-nuggets on the go! This is the best shared learning resource I’ve ever seen though!! :)